Boston Celtics, Loaded with Draft Picks, Are Poised for Bright Future

It has been a strange ride for the Boston Celtics.

Seven years ago, the Celtics finished 66-16 and won their first NBA title in 22 years. Doc Rivers, in his third season as head coach, started three future Hall of Famers and a blossoming young point guard named Rajon Rondo.

Today, the Hall of Famers are gone. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett play for the Brooklyn Nets, and Ray Allen signed with Miami two seasons ago. Rivers left to coach the Los Angeles Clippers in 2013. The Celtics traded Rondo to the Dallas Mavericks in December. The championship core is gone, and the Celtics are struggling.

Last year, Boston won 25 games and finished fourth in the Atlantic Division. It is 20-31 this season. Remarkably, in an abysmal Eastern Conference, the Celtics are still in the playoff hunt. But it is clearly not a contender, and Boston’s slow recovery from the breakup of the “Big Three” has fans wondering where the team is headed.

Frankly, the Celtics are still a few years away from contention. But Boston fans have good reason to be optimistic, as the team’s front office has thus far embraced a methodical and promising rebuilding strategy.

When Rivers departed, the Celtics replaced him with Brad Stevens, a young but immediately successful college coach who brought the unheralded Butler University Bulldogs to consecutive NCAA championship appearances. The 38-year-old Stevens has struggled to win games with an undermanned roster, but the team’s management appears committed to the league’s youngest coach.

In fact, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge backed Stevens on a Salt Lake City radio show last week, saying the second-year coach would “continue to improve because of his intelligence, his integrity, and his work ethic.” 

Stevens, meanwhile, reiterated last month that the Boston brass has “been very good” to him, and while two seasons is a tiny sample size, he seems to be improving. Despite the loss of Rondo and Jeff Green (arguably the team’s two best players), Boston is on pace to win six more games than last season, and its young roster appears to have chemistry.

Given his success at Butler and rapport with management, there seems good reason to believe that Stevens can win a championship with the right pieces. 

Furthermore, despite a dearth of superstars, there are a few intriguing young players on the Celtics’ roster. Jared Sullinger, a 22-year-old power forward, could average a double-double if he continues to improve. Twenty-year-old shooting guard Marcus Smart is proving to be a staunch perimeter defender, and the surprising 7-footer Kelly Olynyk is only 23. In all, Boston’s 15-man roster includes nine players under the age of 26, making it one of the five youngest teams in the league.

Most importantly, Boston is practically drowning in draft picks. The Celtics could have as many as 14 first-round picks in the next four years, including a possible (though highly improbable) five selections in the first round of this year’s draft. Several first-rounders will fall to the second round, but the team is in a strong position with exciting options.

For instance, Boston will probably have six first-round selections and seven second-round picks in the next two drafts. If it can build a solid core of young talent, and if Stevens can develop that talent efficiently, the Celtics of 2018 or 2019 could be talented and extremely deep, flush with young players entering their primes. 

Alternatively, Boston could combine cap space with high draft picks to land a high-profile free agent (or two) in the near future. The Celtics have ravenous fans, a huge market, money to spend and a talented young coach. If they select one or two intriguing young players in the 2015 or 2016 draft, Boston will be a compelling destination for available superstars, particularly if its current core improves.

Of course, there are a lot of “ifs.” It is unclear how deep the upcoming draft classes will be, and every selection comes with bust potential. The upcoming free-agent landscape is murky but exciting; it seems probable that Marc Gasol, Goran Dragic, Brook Lopez and Kevin Durant will test the waters in the next two years, but a host of other top names—including LeBron James—could join the fray, making things far more interesting. 

Either way, Celtics fans have every reason to be confident. The team will not contend for at least one more year. But Boston has good management, a good coach, young talent and tons of options. Most of its fans are probably still in post-Super Bowl bliss, but they should be hopeful for a bright future in basketball.